Flood, Jones
- When
- July 23, 12:00 PM CST to July 25, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jones County, 5.16 mi N of Monticello to 1.94 mi NW of Monticello
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $15 million
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 42.304, -91.217
Along the Maquoketa River, about 50 homes and 20 businesses in Monticello were flooded due to record flooding. A printing company was flooded for the second time in 11 months, this time even worse than the last. Even with advance preparations, the company sustained losses estimated at $850,000. Similarly, a building company sustained $200,000 after 4 feet of water inundated their facilities. The local paper reported that the CEO of the company knew there was a possibility of flooding, but not 4 feet of water.
The county fairgrounds were also heavily impacted by the floods, putting a damper on the ongoing fair events that typically see more than 250,000 visitors. East of Monticello, the historic Corbett's Mill bridge washed away in the record flood and still had not been found several days after the river crested.
Although the Lake Delhi dam failure was upstream of Monticello (and other flooded Jones County communities), the bulk of the flood damage can be attributed to the record flooding of the river itself rather than the dam failure because of the relatively slow progression of the breach and the timing of the flood crest.